Anybody here use solar well pump?

[MacLawn]

Yesterday I came across a solar well pump. RPS is name of company I came across, and it seems to be good. My well is 500' deep, 6" drilled, excellent water since 1975 when I had it drilled. No problems in all these years, except one pump went out about 10 years ago. From their site, seems I could get one for my well for about $2,000-3,000 dollars. Main reason I'm interested is our power goes out often and with solar pump, I'd be good for water. Not counting the SHTF scenario that people say is coming...anyway, this would even save a bit of electric power money, plus open my breaker panel for the pump power.

 

[Larry Caldwell]

The only solar well pump I have ever seen in action was one installed by a friend about 20 years ago. It used a solar panel to charge batteries, which ran a low volume piston pump from a deep well about the same as yours. He pumped into a 3000 gallon buried cistern with about a 40' drop to the house. That gave usable water pressure, but nothing impressive. His solar array was inadequate, not surprising 20 years ago, so he had to use a battery charger on a 120v. line to keep the batteries from discharging. He was using lead-acid, and even deep cycle batteries won't survive full discharges for long.

 

[TheGoose]

Do you want to pressurize the water and use it in your domestic system or is this going to a holding tank for cows etc? Reason I ask is because most solar systems are not set-up to be used with pressurized systems like that. The ones I install flow 5-8 gpm into an open tank. The average well pump uses 1100-1600 watts of power and the average solar uses more like 200-500 watts.

 

[davrow]

It doesn't appear that it is for home use... it pumps into a holding tank. Any household level pressurization is additional, not provided. Wouldn't fit my needs, but thanks for mentioning it.

 

[oosik]

Yes - my neighbor, a big rancher, has two locations where water is pumped via solar powered shallow well pumps. Both locations are a far distance from commercial power. He checks each location once a month while they are in use - May thru October - and wipes the dirt/dust off the solar cells. He's used them both for five plus years with no abnormal difficulties. These sites provide water to at least 500 head of cattle.

 

[RNeumann]

No experience with a “solar pump” but it doesn’t seem to make sense. If the voltage drops (batteries, solar panels etc) the amps increase meaning bigger wire. I’m thinking it’s a normal pump with an inverter, batteries and solar panel. The other option is the pump could be DC. If that’s the case it would require some interesting equipment.

I guess my bottom line would be to think about a normal pump or one of the nice 3 phase variable speed pumps. Then build a generic solar system (if that’s what you need) that can power the pump and anything else that needs power.

Also look into a hand pump. Most pumps are set well (pun intended) below the water level. So a hand pump doesn’t need to be at 500’.

 

[TnAndy]

Most solar pumps are designed to fill a reservoir using 200-300watts of panels when the sun shines. A float switch can be wired in to stop flow if the reservoir is full if desired.

One pump you might look at are the Grundfos SQ series. The run on 30-300DC and 90-240AC....same pump. You can run on grid power normally, and backup DC power when needed.

To run an "on demand" system like the typical AC well setup requires a lot more panel watts, plus a battery bank, charge controller, etc, because "on demand" means you'd likely want water when the sun isn't shining.

 

[RNeumann]

Most solar pumps are designed to fill a reservoir using 200-300watts of panels when the sun shines. A float switch can be wired in to stop flow if the reservoir is full if desired.

One pump you might look at are the Grundfos SQ series. The run on 30-300DC and 90-240AC....same pump. You can run on grid power normally, and backup DC power when needed.

To run an "on demand" system like the typical AC well setup requires a lot more panel watts, plus a battery bank, charge controller, etc, because "on demand" means you'd likely want water when the sun isn't shining.

Yah this makes a lot more sense! A pump barely big enough to deliver something like 20 psi and a few gpm to SLOWLY fill a reservoir......then a second pump to deliver normal pressure and flow to the house.

 

[Jimbrown]

My well is 100% solar. I did it all myself.

It has been flawless for over 12 years. The down hole pump is a Grundfos 6fx I think. It is a multi voltage pump that will run on almost any voltage Ac or dc. I run mine on 6 solar panels producing 72 volts at about 400 watts. It pumps about 3 gallons a minute on the 72 volts. i pump into a 1500 gallon storage tank.

from the storage tank I use a separate pump to pressurize my pressure tank. I use 6 12 volt 40 watt panels in parallel to charge a storage battery that drives a 12 volt RV type pump. That pump charges the pressure tank.

I don't need it but I can pump an easy 1000 gallons a day if I had to. It is simple and it works. Trying to use the same pump to pump from the well and charge a pressure tank with solar is not a good idea. Most pumps simply will not do it. My well pump is multi voltage and I can run it off of a generator if needed. I have only had to do that one time.

 

[RNeumann]

My well is 100% solar. I did it all myself.

It has been flawless for over 12 years. The down hole pump is a Grundfos 6fx I think. It is a multi voltage pump that will run on almost any voltage Ac or dc. I run mine on 6 solar panels producing 72 volts at about 400 watts. It pumps about 3 gallons a minute on the 72 volts. i pump into a 1500 gallon storage tank.

from the storage tank I use a separate pump to pressurize my pressure tank. I use 6 12 volt 40 watt panels in parallel to charge a storage battery that drives a 12 volt RV type pump. That pump charges the pressure tank.

I don't need it but I can pump an easy 1000 gallons a day if I had to. It is simple and it works. Trying to use the same pump to pump from the well and charge a pressure tank with solar is not a good idea. Most pumps simply will not do it. My well pump is multi voltage and I can run it off of a generator if needed. I have only had to do that one time.

How deep is the water level? How deep is the pump?

 

[MacLawn]

Thanks. Won't work then. I keep my 240v 1 hp motor going.

 

[Valveman]

My well is 100% solar. I did it all myself.

It has been flawless for over 12 years. The down hole pump is a Grundfos 6fx I think. It is a multi voltage pump that will run on almost any voltage Ac or dc. I run mine on 6 solar panels producing 72 volts at about 400 watts. It pumps about 3 gallons a minute on the 72 volts. i pump into a 1500 gallon storage tank.

from the storage tank I use a separate pump to pressurize my pressure tank. I use 6 12 volt 40 watt panels in parallel to charge a storage battery that drives a 12 volt RV type pump. That pump charges the pressure tank.

I don't need it but I can pump an easy 1000 gallons a day if I had to. It is simple and it works. Trying to use the same pump to pump from the well and charge a pressure tank with solar is not a good idea. Most pumps simply will not do it. My well pump is multi voltage and I can run it off of a generator if needed. I have only had to do that one time.

If grid power is not available, a system like Jimbrowns works very well. However, if you have grid power available, a house pump only uses about a nickles worth of power every day. It would be impossible to justify the cost of a solar pump system with electric savings. It will cost more just to maintain and replace those batteries than it cost to pay the electric bill for a grid powered pump.

 

[Larry Caldwell]

Yah this makes a lot more sense! A pump barely big enough to deliver something like 20 psi and a few gpm to SLOWLY fill a reservoir......then a second pump to deliver normal pressure and flow to the house.

If you just want to boost pressure from a cistern, you don't need much pump. A centrifugal pump is lousy at sucking, but if you can provide even low head water to the intake, it will pump like a bandit. I have a cistern and use a 1/2 hp centrifugal, and it pumps all the water I need for domestic use or 1-2 sprinkler irrigation. I'm not going to walk out and check, but seem to remember that it draws 6.3 amps at 240 volts if it's running wide open, and of course a lot less than that if it's just filling the pressure tank. I have it wired with a couple hundred feet of 12/3, and it has been running for years with no problems.

 

[MacLawn]

I only wanted solar because of power outages, not to save money on electricity. Not as a backup like a generator, but just replace electric with solar power. Alas, won't work for me. So I forget it. Gracious mi amigos.

 

[Larry Caldwell]

A cistern is a great way to have water during power outages. My cistern is a 2500 gallon spun poly tank, which I installed just because the well flow is very low during the summer. I placed it so the bottom of the cistern is about 6' above the floor of the house, and the cistern is 8' tall, so with no power at all I have 12' to 14' of head. That's enough water to refill the toilet when you flush, or get a glass of water at the sink. If we want a shower we have to fire off the generator to heat water and run the booster pump, but an hour or two of electricity a day is plenty, even under horrible conditions.

 

[EddieWalker]

If grid power is not available, a system like Jimbrowns works very well. However, if you have grid power available, a house pump only uses about a nickles worth of power every day. It would be impossible to justify the cost of a solar pump system with electric savings. It will cost more just to maintain and replace those batteries than it cost to pay the electric bill for a grid powered pump.

I've been wanting to do a solar powered pump on my land to fill a tank that I can use to water my wife's vegetable garden every day. Her water usage adds over a hundred dollars a month to my water bill, which is all city water. My thought was that as the sun came up, it would start charging the solar cells and they would power the pump. Water is only ten feed down where I want to get it, and then about a thousand feet to the house, and up another 30 feet including the height of the tank, so 40 feet max lift from the water to the tank. It's a big project and the cost up front is more then I want to spend. I honestly never thought about running power down there and pumping it that way. Now I'm wondering if I have over thought this, made it more complicated then it needed to be, and if it would be cheaper to just run power down there and be done with it?

 

[oosik]

My neighbor with the two solar pumps - post #5 - never thought about saving money with solar. He DID think wind/windmill but the wind isn't constant enough and anything of this type he could find required more maintenance than solar and the initial cost was considerably more. I know if commercial power ever became available - he would get off solar in a heartbeat.

 

[quicksandfarmer]

I've been wanting to do a solar powered pump on my land to fill a tank that I can use to water my wife's vegetable garden every day. Her water usage adds over a hundred dollars a month to my water bill, which is all city water. My thought was that as the sun came up, it would start charging the solar cells and they would power the pump. Water is only ten feed down where I want to get it, and then about a thousand feet to the house, and up another 30 feet including the height of the tank, so 40 feet max lift from the water to the tank. It's a big project and the cost up front is more then I want to spend. I honestly never thought about running power down there and pumping it that way. Now I'm wondering if I have over thought this, made it more complicated then it needed to be, and if it would be cheaper to just run power down there and be done with it?

A shallow well pump would pull water through 1,000 feet of pipe as long as the vertical distance is 25' or less, it's the vertical distance more than the horizontal that is the limiter. Put the pump where the pipe is closest to the house and save all that wiring. The big thing to worry about is freezing. It may end up the easiest way to protect the pump from freezing is to put the pump inside the house, run the pipe from the well to the house and then from the house to the garden. Even if it means more pipe it could be less work.

 

[EddieWalker]

A shallow well pump would pull water through 1,000 feet of pipe as long as the vertical distance is 25' or less, it's the vertical distance more than the horizontal that is the limiter. Put the pump where the pipe is closest to the house and save all that wiring. The big thing to worry about is freezing. It may end up the easiest way to protect the pump from freezing is to put the pump inside the house, run the pipe from the well to the house and then from the house to the garden. Even if it means more pipe it could be less work.

Another obvious point that I didn't think of. No need for all that wiring, and I can easily build a pump house next to a storage tank by the house. Priming it might be an issue, but I always have the city water and a hose to do that, so it shouldn't be too hard. Thanks!!!!

 

[Larry Caldwell]

Another obvious point that I didn't think of. No need for all that wiring, and I can easily build a pump house next to a storage tank by the house. Priming it might be an issue, but I always have the city water and a hose to do that, so it shouldn't be too hard. Thanks!!!!

Your city water system will be paranoid about cross-connections contaminating their system. At the very least, you will need a double check between your home system and the city system, and it will have to be inspected annually. That's if they will let you have a well system at all. They may just pull the meter and deny you water service. I didn't realize you had city water. That's a can of worms.